Pollard Wins Race and Five Flags PLM Title–But is Stripped of Both in Tech

Illegal Cam Steals Pollards 18th Win and Fourth Championship in 2011

After celebrating the #18 car’s 18th win of the 2011 season

and its fourth championship, the Five Flags Speedway 2011

Pro Late Model title, in victory lane Saturday night, Bubba

Pollard was stripped of his titles after his crate engine was

found to have an illegal cam inside.

Late in the event, Pollard battled hard with both veteran Mike

Garvey and his closest competitor in Pro Late Model

competition at Five Flags all season, DJ VanderLey.

“Mike had a good car,” said Pollard.  “He’s had a good car

here and at Mobile the last couple of races and has just had some bad luck.  He was a little better than me I think.  We got out front after a restart after he had passed us.  I felt like we had to be out front because our car wasn’t good enough to be in second, to make the pass for the win.  I felt like I needed to be out front and let him chase me and see if he would use up some of his equipment.  I think we both got every bit out of the cars as we could.  I was really free and I think he was too.  Just tough racing, it’s good to race with someone like that... he’s a good racecar driver.

“And we raced side by side with DJ for a few laps there too,” said Pollard.  “We raced good last week and did it again this week.” 

Pollard was relegated to a 26th-place finish in the final running order and lost the 2011 Five Flags Speedway Pro Late Model championship.  However, Pollard is not going to let this setback slow him down going into both the Snowflake and Snowball Derby at the famed half-mile in December.

“You got people coming in from everywhere,” said Pollard.  “One hundred percent of the Snowball Derby is luck.  We’ve had good cars the past couple of years.  There have been a lot of people that should’ve won and could’ve won and didn’t.  We were leading with 15 to go last year, so anything can happen.  It’s all about luck there.  You can take a 20th place car and sure enough win the Derby. 

“Hopefully we can take some of this momentum into the rest of the season and have some good finishes in some of these bigger races and the Snowball Derby.  It would definitely put a good cap to the season to win the Snowball Derby.”

Next up for Pollard will be this weekend’s Alabama 200 at South Alabama Speedway where Pollard clinched the 2011 Viper Series Pro Late Model title last month.

Bubba Pollard found success early at Five Flags Speedway. (Speed51.com Photo)